Introduction
Unless you still live in the Stone Age, you're likely using social media for your business. Social media has become an integral part of modern-day marketing, and why not?
With 5.07 billion people worldwide now using social media, it’s not far-fetched that businesses use it to build their brand awareness, grow their community and bring in leads.
However, managing social media can be challenging for business owners, especially those running small businesses.
Deciding on the right social media platforms, responding to comments, and posting regularly can be overwhelming. This is where social media delegation comes in.
In this post, I’ll show you everything you need to know about social media delegation—from which tasks to outsource to the costs involved.
What is social media delegation all about?
Like the name implies, social media delegation is simply delegating your social media marketing to a strategist or expert.
Whether you’re outsourcing to a remote assistant, a freelance social media manager or a digital marketing agency, the goal is to put an expert in charge of your social media marketing so you can win back valuable time while ensuring that your online presence continues to grow and thrive.
Depending on the social media strategist or agency, their services may include:
Managing social media accounts
Developing a social media strategy
Conducting competitor research
Creating and designing social media posts
Providing reports and analytics
Creating a social media content calendar
Who should you delegate your social media to?
There are several choices when it comes to outsourcing your social media marketing. They include:
Social media marketing agencies: These agencies often have teams with expertise across different platforms and industries that you can leverage to achieve the best results.
Freelance social media managers: They offer flexibility and personalized services and can handle tasks such as content creation, scheduling, and engagement.
Technical virtual assistants: A technical VA can handle day-to-day management of your social media, including posting content, responding to messages, and tracking metrics.
Each option has its own strengths, so choosing the right one depends on your business needs, budget, and desired level of involvement.
Why delegate social media tasks?
As the use of social media grows all over the world, it becomes increasingly important to invest time in managing it effectively.
In other words, any business that will be relevant must have a social media presence. Now while you can choose to manage your social media yourself (I mean, no one’s going to fight you for it), it’s best to outsource these jobs to a social media expert if you’re going to achieve optimal results.
These aren’t just my suggestions; there are success stories to back this up. Take Procter & Gamble, for example: by outsourcing their digital marketing, they not only achieved award-winning success but also executed highly effective campaigns.
I’ll tell you why you should delegate your social media to an expert.
They understand social media than you do
One of the major benefits of outsourcing your social media management is that it puts your social media in the hands of people who are more experienced and skilled than you are.
While you might have little knowledge of social media marketing, it is not enough to build engagement and drive growth for your business. Outsourcing your social media to a company or freelancer that focuses on social media content creation connects you with experts who know everything about creating effective and engaging content.
Social media experts can help you:
Create plans for short- and long-term goals (like increasing followers or boosting conversion rates)
Tailor content for different audiences or platforms
Continue what you're already doing right
Address issues preventing your social media’s success
Find opportunities for partnerships and marketing collaborations
Your time becomes yours again
It goes without saying that this is every business owner’s dream, so if you're exhausted from waking up to an endless list of social media jobs that barely give you a moment to breathe, it's time to consider outsourcing as your new best friend.
Building and managing a successful social media presence, let alone a viral one, demands a significant amount of time and dedication. If you want to do it right, you'll need to commit an extraordinary amount of time and effort that might make it impossible for you to focus on other key areas of your life and business.
Not only does outsourcing your social media help you sleep well at night, but it also allows you to focus on other important needs of your business and spend time doing other things you love and care about.
You get access to the best tech tools
Another reason you should outsource your social media is that it offers you access to a wide range of high-tech social media tools.
Social media strategists who specialise in outsourced social media management typically have access to a variety of digital marketing tools that maximize efficiency and results for their clients. From social media scheduling platforms to analytics dashboards and monitoring tools, you don’t have to worry about anything. This means you can avoid paying for your app subscriptions while still getting the best social media management services.
You can beat your competitors
Let’s face it, how well do you study your competitors enough to beat them at their game?
Surpassing your competitors involves taking a dedicated amount of time to analyse their strategies and find better ways to target your audience and promote your products or services effectively.
By delegating your social media management to the right experts, you get the opportunity to do just that and even more.
You are able to achieve brand consistency
Brand consistency is important for every business as it helps create a lasting impression with your audience and build trust.
To earn the trust of potential customers who will be spending their hard-earned money, you need to be consistent, and this comes from regular posting and maintaining a unified brand identity across all your social media platforms.
By delegating your social media management to an expert, you'll ensure that you never miss an opportunity to present your brand effectively and maintain the right identity to your customers.
You save money by outsourcing
On average, hiring a new employee in the United States takes 24 days and costs $4,000, covering job postings, assessments, background checks and training. By outsourcing your social media management, you can cut these costs and avoid expenses for additional equipment, benefits, and office space. Plus, you'll get access to a team of experts for less than the cost of a single in-house hire.
Bonus point: The process of sorting through various applications and research to find the perfect social media agent can be exhausting. As a pro tip, consider using specialized hiring agencies. Companies like CareerBuddy streamline the hiring process, letting you sit back and relax while they find the ideal candidate for you.
With 85% of candidates staying in the roles for over two years, a testament to the efficiency and character of these talents, CareerBuddy can help you secure the right talent for your business needs, saving you costs and ensuring everything runs smoothly.
What social media tasks should you delegate?
Now that you know the benefits of delegating your social media tasks, it’s also important to know what tasks to delegate. Will you focus solely on content creation, or do you also need analytical services?
Before meeting with a social media outsourcing expert, consider your business goals and the specific tasks you need help with.
Here are 15 social media tasks you can delegate:
Account setup
Content creation and scheduling
Engagement and community management
Analytics and reporting
Copywriting and captions
Customer service
Content calendar management
Graphic design
Video editing
Influencer outreach
Manual outreach and messaging
Competitor and trend research
Campaign management
Social listening/brand monitoring
Social media advertising and promotion
What to do before you delegate
Here are the things you must do before you delegate your social media jobs:
Set clear expectations and goals
Do you want your account to grow in terms of the number of followers and engagement? Or, are you just searching for someone to manage your accounts?
The point is, you need to identify your goals first before deciding to delegate your social media marketing.
This will help you guide them effectively and ensure they meet your needs, and will also help in creating your brief and guidelines. Once your goals are clear, you'll be able to identify the perfect candidate or team to help you achieve them with a practical social media plan.
Ask questions before choosing
Asking questions ensures the social media outsourcing agent understands your goals and can effectively meet your needs with a tailored strategy. These are important questions to ask before you take this step:
What is your experience with managing social media accounts in my industry?
Can you provide examples of past successes and case studies?
What strategies do you use to increase followers and engagement?
How do you measure the success of your campaigns?
What tools and platforms do you use for social media management?
How will you tailor your approach to fit my specific goals?
What is your process for content creation and approval?
How frequently will you report on progress and metrics?
Can you provide references from past or current clients?
What is your pricing structure and what services are included?
Establish KPIs and metrics for success
Your potential social media outsourcing agent will not know what progress to report if you don’t establish your KPIs and metrics for success in the first place. So before you take this step, ensure that you define what success looks like for your social media efforts and communicate these benchmarks clearly.
Ensuring the security and privacy of your accounts
Social media hacking is unfortunately common, but you can avoid it by:
Inviting your outsourced social media agent as a collaborator instead of sharing your login credentials
Creating a strong password, you can use a password manager like 1Password to generate and secure it
Enabling two-factor authentication
Assigning specific permissions
Regularly updating your passwords
Monitoring account activity for any suspicious behaviour
Regularly backing up your social media data
Using trusted security software to protect your devices.
Reviewing and adjusting privacy settings regularly
How much does it cost to delegate social media marketing
The cost of delegating your social media marketing can vary widely based on the agency’s reputation, services, and location, and can range from hundreds to thousands of dollars per month.
Discuss payment terms and consider bundling all social media handles for a more cost-effective solution.
How to measure the success of social media delegation
Let’s say you’ve found the right social media marketing match, how can you ensure they’re meeting your business needs?
The hack is to keep your initial goals in mind and make sure the strategist provides clear analytics and results to demonstrate success. Review these results whenever your contract is up for renewal to ensure they’re delivering on their promises.
Final thoughts
Now that you know everything you need to delegate your social media marketing, it’s time to meet your social media goals without sacrificing your time.
Remember, to promote your online image you need a strong online media presence carried out by the best talents. You can achieve this by onboarding the right talent through CareerBuddy. CareerBuddy connects you with qualified social media experts who will help boost your customer base at 80% less cost than local hires.
Need an experienced social media talent for your business? Just speak to us about it, and we’ll handle the rest!